Last winter when I was driving home from work on a snow-covered road, a car traveling in the opposite direction was taking way more than his half out of the middle, so I slowly eased to the right to allow him enough room to safely pass and, in doing so, both of my right tires lost traction and my car began to slide off the road toward a ditch. I pointed the steering wheel back toward my intended direction of travel and eased on the throttle and the car pulled itself safely back on the road. Had I been driving another car without AWD, I'm sure I would have ended up in the ditch. My Subaru saved itself from wreckage... I will never forget that

I had an '89 Jeep Cherokee before I bought my WRX. I loved that chassis, but the cooling system was atrocious. It was a "closed system" with a plastic overflow tank (located at the highest point on the passenger side firewall). I hadn't done my homework on that design.

After buying this truck I soon found out that my (4.0L inline 6) engine temps of 210 degrees F were "normal." Well, once outside temps climbed above 80 degrees F, the engine temp would sit at 212 degrees F. I could hear the coolant "percolating" in the overflow tank from inside the car. What was the (temporary) remedy? -> Driving with the heater on full blast at all times (in LA summer heat).

Wait, there's more...since the overflow tank was plastic and always under pressure, it would develop cracks that would get bigger each week. Once they got big enough they started to leak fluid. The high location of the tank assured that all engine parts below were subject to the spray of coolant. Since it was a closed system, there was no way to relieve the pressure when this occurred.

So, I had the whole cooling system rebuilt. And you know what? The cracks started to show up in the new plastic overflow tank within a month. Now I understood why 1) the dealers had a monopoly on reservoir tanks, and 2) why they were always in stock.

To this day I still react angrily whenever I smell coolant...anywhere.

- Engine #1 - Spun bearing at 74k miles
- Engine #2 - Thrown rod due to overboost (?) after the 1st time I floored the car after breaking the engine in at 75k miles
- Engine #3 - Broken ringlands due to bad tune at 92k miles
- Engine #4 - Broken ringlands due to improper rebuild at 93k miles
- Engine #5 - Killed by poor build (valve lash incorrect and too much piston clearance) at 110k miles
- Engine #6 - Has been in progress since May because a damn P0340 code won't go away
- Transmission #1 - My fault. Broke avoiding an accident at 56k miles
- Transmission #2 - 2nd gear broken on way home from getting the above repaired due to improper build or defective parts
- Transmission #3 - 3rd gear stripped at 70k miles
- Rear Differential - Warranty repair at ~60k miles
- Upper Coolant Reservoir - Started leaking from under the lid at ~80k miles
- ABS Speed Sensor - Warranty repair after ABS engaged every time I touched the brakes at ~32k miles
- Front Axle - Scored by EWG vent tube
- Engine Mount - Broke due to too much power at 90k miles
- Upper Radiator Hose - Cut by radiator fan at 100k miles
- Front Struts - I ran springs that were too aggressive for the stock struts
- Trunk Latch - Broke and replaced under warranty at ~50k miles
- Driver's Door Lock - Fell into door at ~80k miles
- Clock - Stopped working at 70k miles
- Steering Rack - Replaced under warranty at 80k miles
- Front Passenger's Window Switch - Window control ceased working at 87k miles
- Front Driver' Window Switch Panel - Passenger rear window button ceased working at 95k miles
- All 4 struts dead 110k miles
- Front Driver's Side Axle - Twisted and broke the hub when it came out at 111k miles
- I've had to replace the front A/C line twice and the rear one along the fire wall once due to leaks
- Clutch Master Cylinder - Currently leaking

- Engine #1 - Spun bearing at 74k miles
- Engine #2 - Thrown rod due to overboost (?) after the 1st time I floored the car after breaking the engine in at 75k miles
- Engine #3 - Broken ringlands due to bad tune at 92k miles
- Engine #4 - Broken ringlands due to improper rebuild at 93k miles
- Engine #5 - Killed by poor build (valve lash incorrect and too much piston clearance) at 110k miles
- Engine #6 - Has been in progress since May because a damn P0340 code won't go away
- Transmission #1 - My fault. Broke avoiding an accident at 56k miles
- Transmission #2 - 2nd gear broken on way home from getting the above repaired due to improper build or defective parts
- Transmission #3 - 3rd gear stripped at 70k miles
- ABS Speed Sensor - Warranty repair at ~35k miles
- Rear Differential - Warranty repair at ~60k miles
- Upper Coolant Reservoir - Started leaking from under the lid at ~80k miles
- Front Brakes - Warranty repair after ABS engaged every time I touched the brakes at ~32k miles
- Front Axle - Scored by EWG vent tube
- Engine Mount - Broke due to too much power at 90k miles
- Upper Radiator Hose - Cut by radiator fan at 100k miles
- Front Struts - I ran springs that were too aggressive for the stock struts
- Trunk Latch - Broke and replaced under warranty at ~50k miles
- Driver's Door Lock - Fell into door at ~80k miles
- Clock - Stopped working at 70k miles
- Steering Rack - Replaced under warranty at 80k miles
- Front Passenger's Window Switch - Window control ceased working at 87k miles
- Front Driver' Window Switch Panel - Passenger rear window button ceased working at 95k miles
- All 4 struts dead 110k miles
- Front Driver's Side Axle - Twisted and broke the hub when it came out at 111k miles
- I've had to replace the front A/C line twice and the rear one along the fire wall once due to leaks
- Clutch Master Cylinder - Currently leaking

And no, that's not anywhere near a complete list...

You modified your car, the BMW was stock and I still put $4000 worth of repairs into it...

i blew out 2nd gear went to replace it with a used tranny then come to find out that the input shaft seal was leaking so had to rip it apart all again split the tranny to fix the seal. all in all this was over a 6 month job b/c we had to work outside and during the winter time with nasty snow/rain. so ya note to self next time. make sure my garage is clean to hold a car.

Again you modified yours I didn't even touch mine...So regular maintenance for 4 years was $4000...And that's not including oil changes, tires, alignment, brakes and various filters...
Not trying to out do anyone here, but the reality is that BMW's suck.

2 winters aqgo I was driving my 04 WRX on the way to the airport to go on vacation to Vegas. Lost my camera battery so my wife, who was 5 months pregnant, and I had to stop by Best Buy to get a new battery. There was a crap load of snow in ND and the were pilling it up where ever they could along the street. I stopped so I could see oncoming traffic and when I saw the last car clear the 25 - 20 foot high snow pile. I drove up to the snow pile and creept out. To my suprise there was a G8 hauling at me. I stepped on it and got T-boned right behind the driver side door. It totaled my car and I was hauled out of it on one of the body board things. Wife was alright luckly. Oh and the guy that hit me... he proceeded to go hit a snow bank and go 150 yards AFTER hitting my car. And it was my fault. Not sure how fast he was going but it was alot higher than the speed limit of 30 mph. Also totaled my car

I had to rebuild my transmission, then about 100 miles after that my rear main seal started leaking, I just got done replacing the rear main seal as well as all of my engine gaskets/seals (oil cooler was leaking very very slowly also) and now the transmission is leaking from the passenger side axle seal and the cooling system is getting plugged up somewhere.

I had to rebuild my transmission, then about 100 miles after that my rear main seal started leaking, I just got done replacing the rear main seal as well as all of my engine gaskets/seals (oil cooler was leaking very very slowly also) and now the transmission is leaking from the passenger side axle seal and the cooling system is getting plugged up somewhere.

it may seem like a pain in the ass, but personally, I envy you and respect you for having the means and determination to tackle these issues yourself!

Well I was going down the road the other day on the seconed day I've owned my 2004 wrx with sti block and ppg built tranny and on my cd player it had a "acceleration" gauge. I thought to myself, let's see if this works, so I very very easily downshifted into 3rd and gunned it after I got off the clutch. About 2 secs into third I hear this BANG and my heart dropped into my pants. I could put it in every single gear bit it wouldn't pull and when I let out on the clutch when its In gear it just sits there and makes a light metal on metal sound. The car is currently in my driveway and has been there for the last week because I haven't had the time to look and see what happened. Frankly im scared lol. But ima tear into it next week and ill get back to you guys with the diagnosis.